more about my Fishing Lady

I forgot to add that the fishing lady piece of mine was a kit from Kathleen Smith of Textile Reproductions in Massachusetts. I just went to her website and found that she still carries the kit. This is the info from the web page. She has lots of interesting textiles there. Check it out. Just google "Kathleen Smith Textile Reproductions."

KIT to make Reclining Shepherdess Picture

Natural brown linen canvas (approx 20 ct), vegetable dyed worsted yarn & vegetable dyed silk thread.

Needlework area: approx 18 x 22 inches

Here's your chance to make an historically accurate textile reproduction yourself! The kit includes everything you need to work a traditional tent stitch picture using 18th century methods. The work is not difficult, but working the entire picture takes many hours. Pictures like this were typically made by girls in their mid teens during the 18th century--building both their skill with a needle and their perseverance. If you prefer us to do the work, we have a finishedShepherdess picture for sale in our Gallery.

Price: $275  Reclining Shepherdess Tent Stitch Picture  Vegetable-dyed wool and silk thread on linen canvas  18x22 inches needlework; 21.5x25.75 inches overall    Tent stitch pictures like this one were popular projects for adolescent girls during the eighteenth century. Young women often attended a school where they were instructed in embroidery techniques desirable as skills for gentlewomen. This piece is worked with both wool and silk threads in tent stitch, as well as embellished with French knots worked over the tent stitching. It is stitched in the traditional manner, i.e., in a way that results in a distorted canvas that must be stretched back to its rectangular shape when the work has been completed. The needlework is tacked to a sealed wooden stretcher frame and framed in the period manner. We also have a few copies of the kit version for this project in case you want to make your own. Price: $12,500 I guess I'll have to take out an insurance policy on my piece! I did supplement the threads that Kathleen included in the kit with some others for the trees and sky. I wanted my trees in different shades for the leaves and wanted more blue in my sky. I also added medicis for some of the grassy area when I ran out of colors and made some of the flowers brighter. I do think it is worth all that time I put into it—but probably not $12,500! This is a reproduction of an actual piece from a museum in New England. We only had 5 of us at Sampler Group today, but we had a nice visit. Afterwards I finished the book The Postmistress and decided that I really did like it. On to the next book adventure... --Nancy